Monday: Happy St Patrick's Day! Also: A chat about transactional relationships.

Also: Did you catch my WILD deal on how you can score a completely free consulting session?

Good morning!

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

If you are celebrating today, happy St. Patrick’s Day!!! — in honor of the occasion, I rounded up some fun cocktails to give a try.

I’m not Irish, but I love Ireland and all things Irish - in fact, one of my most memorable press trips EVER was when I spent St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin!

alywalansky

A post shared by @alywalansky

(Hard to top that moment, I know.)

Anyway, I’m back in NYC and have a lot going on this week, including some fun events and as much fun as LA was last week (it was!) it was a super-packed schedule and I’m also very excited to be back to my normal workday routine.

A few new pieces to share today —for Travel & Leisure: I Found the Perfect Walking Shoes to Prevent Sore Feet During Travel — Score Styles on Sale Up to 62% Off and for Saatva: The Benefits of NASA Naps.

Job leads

My dear friends at KLG PR are hiring a NYC-based account manager - def apply for this one, they are such fab people to hang with!

A few weeks ago, I had mentioned in here that I had seen a conversation on social media, where a few publicists and small business owners were discussing how they’d never invest in a paid subscription of a Substack if it did not directly relate to a journalist regularly writing about their clients. I’ve seen similar complaints from time to time in my own inbox.

A reminder: NO ethical journalist ever puts sourcing requests for a story behind a paywall or gives any higher degree of access to story opps to people who are paid subscribers. NO ethical publicist would ever want to pitch for a story that has sourcing behind said paywall. NONE of that is earned media and we all should darn well know the difference at this point.

My free newsletter goes out EVERY SINGLE DAY - that’s where you’ll find the sourcing. It’s free. Always has been, always will be.

The paid content contains optional additional benefits - such as the aforementioned webinars, workshops, industry insights, AMA sessions and recordings, and so so forth. If you do not understand the difference in this, it’s time to look inward at your own ethics.

Interestingly enough, this issue came up just yesterday - when a subscriber whose clients and businesses I have covered widely, in various capacities, for decades, sent me a Sunday evening text message.

Apparently, her annual paid subscription had just came up for auto-renewal, and if I could not give immediate confirmation I would write about her brand (and brought up specific outlets where I don’t even cover that sort of content and never have) …she wanted a full refund to her paid newsletter subscription.

I gave her the refund that very moment.

And, then, if we’re being honest, sat down and cried. Not because I lost a paid subscriber. But because this was someone who I thought was a true friend.

As stated above, quid pro pro and transactional relationships do not ethically exist in earned media and as a journalist with decades of experience in the field, those ethics are first and foremost to me.

A reminder that being a paid subscriber should in no way ever give anyone increased access to sourcing opportunities — the paid subscription for this newsletter offers dozens of other added benefits (including of course how to pen more effective pitches — which WILL ultimately get you more coverage from all journalists, not just me) but not increased access to sourcing opps — but, of course, I was greatly saddened by this, both personally and professionally, on several levels. This was someone I thought I had a true relationship with, and it turned out to be nothing but transactional.

We know that in our lives, we should never allow ourselves to accept otherwise in our personal realities, but we don’t always consider it in business: The concept of reciprocity in a transactional business relationship being: Hey, I gave you something, and now you have an obligation to reciprocate in some way.

So, how do you know when your PR/media relationship is reciprocal vs. transactional?

Reciprocal: This is obvious, but does it feel like a relationship of mutual respect and give-and-take? Are both parties somehow contributing to the relationship, and is there a balance? This could be (of course) pitching and writing about those pitches, but also a relationship that includes a balance in the sense of support and resources. If it feels unbalanced, eventually someone’s going to fall right off that seesaw. And it’s going to hurt.

Transactional: OK, these are what a lot of PR/media relationships end up being and that’s fine as long as everyone is on the same page. It’s when the relationship is focused just on what one can do for the other. A specific exchange of services or goods, one of you is seeking something from other, and chances are you both feel the same way, and neither one of you is looking for an ongoing sense of community or support or friendship.

These terms may feel and even look pretty similar at times, but the difference is, with a reciprocal relationship, chances are a meaningful friendship and sense of trust will deepen over time. Transactional are, of course, more short-term, needs based, and situation based. When the client or beat or focus area or your outlets change…these are people you never hear from again because you are no longer of use to them. And, that, again, does hurt.

It’s important to remember that transactional relationships are very hollow and can only get you so far. Try to make this season of giving also one about creating more meaningful relationships, and here’s some tips to get started:

1. Not all relationships are 50/50, and that is also true in media and PR. But do your best to not just ask for something without also attempting to provide something in return. Of course that happens sometimes, but if it’s a pattern, no one is going to want to work with you. Transactions don’t get you very far in the long term. Your relationships with other people do. So, treat them well.

2. Remember that social media is at its heart relationship based. That’s why engagement is so important — it’s a return-on-relationship, not a return-on-salesmanship.

3. Pitching: We talk about this a lot, but we can instantly tell the difference between a relationship sort of pitch and a transactional sort of pitch. i.e. “Hi, Aly! Saw you did X this week, I did Y last week, was thinking of you and thought you might be interested in…” - tying it into my personal interests and things I have shared (which shows you are reading!).

4. Staying in touch: Those who are not transactional will send out an email to touch base even when they don’t need anything, or want anything from you, just to maintain the relationship, even if you can’t do anything for them in that moment of time…it shows they actually care about you and the relationship, beyond the next placement for their client.

5. Being a person, first. We’re in a really hard stretch of time right now, where a lot of people are struggling. Own that, and respect that. I have gotten a few pitches of late that opened up with a disclaimer that they knew there were bigger things going on in my world - and THE world right now - and to answer when ready. There’s others that just went straight into “hope you are having a great week!’ - show you care, show you are not tone deaf, and that goes a long way.

   Limited-time deals on consulting sessions and ad placement!

Reminder: I’m offering a limited-time special consulting session discount for paid subscribers: If you are a paid subscriber, you can for a limited time, get 25% off a virtual consulting session (where we can have your own private or agency-wide AMA session on anything you want to chat about!) — I have some slots open in the next few weeks, so if you or your agency is interested in booking one, email me today and we’ll chat details.

Flash sale: If you book a group subscription for your agency, you may be eligible for a FREE consulting session for your team (if you buy 12 or more seats as part of your annual group subscription). Email me so we can discuss!

I’m also offering a seasonal special on advertising in this newsletter. I’d love to place your sponsored posts and advertising in this substack, which goes out to nearly 10,000 media professionals every single day; Note: I do limit advertising to only what would be of interest to my readers, but am open to both short paragraph blurbs and dedicated posts - if you are interested in chatting details and scheduling something, please email me at alywalansky@gmail.com today!

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Thank you for helping get the word out!

We had an amazing turnout at our recent Mother’s Day gift guide pitching workshop — and there’s a full recording available for paid subscribers. If you are interested in me sending you the video link, drop me an email. Thanks so much for your support and happy gift guide pitching!

Related: We loved how many of attended you took the time to attend our webinar event last month, covering the upcoming ShareASale to Awin migration. We covered an overview of the migration process and timeline, pricing of networks, and choosing a network for your specific client needs. If you missed it, we do have a recording available for paid subscribers. Email if interested and I’ll share how to grab that recording as well!

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Affiliate marketing is complicated, and it seems that the landscape keeps changing. If you are looking to be prepared for gift guide season and all other shopping-related content, you may want to try the Ultimate Masterclass and Introduction to Affiliate Marketing for Publicists. It's a brilliant course and it'll answer all your questions (including some you didn't know you had!)

Newly published or freshly updated

Since people are often asking about the status of stories from a while ago, and I only share stories in this newsletter that were published or updated in the current week, I have created a list of my author pages at various publications to which I contribute. Bookmark it and make your life a bit easier.

• Travel & Leisure: I Found the Perfect Walking Shoes to Prevent Sore Feet During Travel — Score Styles on Sale Up to 62% Off

• Taste of Home: Yes, Costco Chicken Nuggets Taste Exactly Like Chick-fil-A's

• Saatva: The Benefits of NASA Naps

• Forbes: Bobby’s Burgers By Bobby Flay Is Now Presenting Classic Buffalo Flavors In Unexpected Way.

• Today.com: Do drugstore wrinkle creams really work? Experts weigh in

• Food Network: Popeyes Is Bringing Its Most Popular Sauces to Grocery Aisles.

• Southern Living: KFC Is Bringing Back Their Most-Requested Side—But For 2 Weeks Only

• Travel & Leisure: In-flight Theft Is Unfortunately a Thing, but These 12 Items Give Me Peace of Mind When I'm Traveling by Plane

• Apartment Therapy: I Asked Pro Travelers to Share Their Packing Tips for Spring Break

• Southern Living: What Exactly Is "Check-In Chicken" And Will It Actually Help You Get A Better Seat On A Flight?

• Forbes: Molly Yeh’s Collaboration With Popular New York City Bakery Involves A Heavy Dose Of Nostalgia.

• Food Network: Starbucks’ New Spring 2025 Drink Features Cherry on Top

• Travel & Leisure: Frequent Fliers Say This Genius Hack Makes It Feel Like They've Upgraded Their Seat — and It's Only $30.

• Forbes.com: Exotic Meats Are On The Menu At Indian Speakeasy In New York City

• RetailMeNot: How to Save Money on Groceries in 2025: 10 Tips That Actually Work

• Southern Living: The Unexpected Reason I Always Travel With Duct Tape—And You Should Too

• Apartment Therapy: We Asked Experts for the Best Way to Store Sex Toys — Here’s What They Said

• Saatva: Daylight Saving Time and Sleep: 5 Ways to Sleep Better When the Clocks Change

• Apartment Therapy: I Tried the 30/30 Rule, and I Discovered Something Unexpected

• Travel & Leisure: A Travel Writer's $10 Amazon Packing Hack for Shoes

• Travel & Leisure: I Travel Solo Often, and I Won’t Stay in Another Airbnb Without Packing This 1 Safety Device

• Southern Living: The 9 Best Bottles Of Bourbon, According To Southern Chefs And Bartenders

If you or your client are featured in any of these stories, I super appreciate any social media shares! Please remember to tag @alywalansky and the outlet.

Here’s what I’m working on:

Be sure to read the below list carefully. Many are stories I posted about yesterday, but some of yesterday's stories are no longer listed and a few new ones have been added since yesterday. This (below) is everything that is still a currently open opportunity as of today.

Please remember when pitching me: Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com - do NOT just hit reply on this newsletter, or there’s a good shot your email will be lost in the heap. Give your email a subject line that makes it clear which story you are pitching me for — it’ll help you in the long run.

Please consult my industry insights guides on submitting expert commentary, sending emails that will catch a journalist’s attention, how to craft pitches journalists will say ‘yes’ to, and the right and wrong way to submit photos, if you need any extra guidance before sending your pitches.

Forbes

I’m rounding up Kosher for Passover treats/snacks/beverages (must be certified as SPECIFICALLY kosher for passover and not just regular kosher - a reminder that these are completely unique certifications and this differentiation is crucial for anyone observing the holiday. Please email me if you have anything!)

I’m also looking for Passover or Easter themed cocktails that are on the menu or will be over the holiday in either restaurants are bars. If you have anything, please send me all the following info:

• Name of drink/where it’s found, city, state, URL

• description

• quote from chef/bartender

• image (and who to credit)

I’m also looking for sustainable cocktails at bars and restaurants for Earth Month. These are cocktails that minimize their impact on the environment in some way — perhaps using local and seasonal ingredients, ugly produce, root to tip, waste reduction, sustainable alcohol, sustainable bartending techniques or such. Please email me if you have anything!

Newsweek Readers Choice

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I am part of the panel of travel & food journalists who come up with the nominees for the Newsweek Reader’s Choice awards in a number of categories. In the past, that has included Best Full-Service Airport Restaurants, Best Carry-On Bags, Best Cruise Ship for Families 2025, Best Apres Ski Spots, Best Casinos with Live Music (outside Vegas), Best U.S. Wellness Resort, Best Packing Cube, Best Vodka, Best Gourmet Subscription Box, Best Mattress, and Best Outdoor Grill. I have a few new categories I’m working on this week, including Best Outdoor Speaker and Best Outdoor Grill. Be sure to let me know if you think there’s anything I should consider (for these pending categories only).

<3

aly